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This thread is to be used for discussing the entire 24 episodes of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai(second season)... your thoughts about the show, overall impressions, expectations and hopes about the DVD only footage etc.

A few subjects you might want to ramble on about:

General impression of the series.

Opinions on the overall story, writing & plot devices.

Thoughts about the animation quality.

Characters/Character Design

Which kind of footage (DVD only) you feel you'd really like to see.

What the show meant to you.

What could the creators/animators/writers have done better.

And so on.

The poll represents your total series rating. In other words, how you would rate all the episodes combined (1-10)? If you'd rather rate the whole series by technical/artistic merits, you can do so. An example:

"Kai" was interesting, but a little unstable. (i.e. eventful happenings over the course of two episodes, and then a long strand of semi-filler.) Better than many, worse than few. The several excellent episodes made it well worth the watch.

The story had a few plotholes, however ultimately, it came full circle. The two most intriguing elements of the series are the analogy of Rika being a chess player, and the characters' transition from despair, to hope. Of these two, the latter is profound, while the first is immediately captivating.

The only "plot device" I could see was the "Deus ex Machina" at the end of #22. Even the last scenes; the shot at the end, had logical explanations if examined. The writing was, (with very few exceptions), excellent. Just look at the scene were Rika is descending the ladder, and starts mumbling to herself, for reassurance. Sounded like me. xD

Better animation quality than last season, however as is inevitable with this style, there were a few stick limbs, and deformed faces.

All the character were well designed in my opinion, and none of them seemed contrived.

The only DVD footage I want to see is when Satoshi opens his eyes. It will be criminal if they don't add this…

For me, this wasn't just some random show, nor of passing interest. I was enthralled by the story, engaging in countless hunts for doujin, and fanfiction; I idolized it. Shion is the character who really drew me in however; her actions near the end are heroic (and romantic). In other words, Higurashi genuinely attached my emotions.

The creators probably could have done better with the animation. And evened out the plot a little. However only thing that actually irritated me was constant repetition of "miracle". A concrete resolution might have helped, but… This is Higurashi after all…

And after all… tomorrow is another season.

Last edited by Lanner Falcon; 2007-12-30 at 22:29.
Reason: General Editing

It was a good series overall, and an ending deserving to the Higurashi name. I felt the first episode of Kai was needed, but quite dull, however the Adult Rena did spice it up a little. The anime only arc was good, and showed off the new art/animation style of season 2 quite well. The ending to episode 5 was very emotional for me. Overall, it was a great start to hype up the real meat of Kai.

Minagoroshi, on the otherhand, started off strong, but had a weak middle. It had it's moments, but overall, I felt it was much too dragged out. I feel explaining Satoko's abuse and saving her was an important part, of course, but it was dragged out for 4 episodes or so, and sometimes I was wondering when they'd finish this plot point. After that though, it got very good, with the revalation of Takano being the villain and Tomitake's death, up do they great fight in episode 13, a very emotional end to Minagoroshi for me, and very effective.

Matsubayashi was mostly good thoughout, though I feel there could've been more episodes for this arc, and less for Minagoroshi. It needed way more Hanyuu! XD
The final episode was excellent, however, some questions were still not answered. ( Like Shion and Saotshi, and what happens from there) But I guess that's what season 3's for!~

One thing about Higurashi Kai that I really liked was how all the characters seemed closer, and the team work aspects really made me smile, as it was mostly non-existent in Higurashi; What, with everyone going crazy and all. xD

The Animation was a big step up from the first series, I dont think I saw one contorted facial expression! The animation however, really varied. You had the top-notch animation of episode 24, and then you had the 'budget' episodes, such as episode 12. Heck, even episode 13, while good in parts, still had flaws, such as the limbs, etc. I think DEEN has an erratic way of doing things, spending time animating smaller scenes well, while not doing it for bigger, more important ones. Also, I really liked the new eyes DEEN gave the characters; whenever I see Higurashi season 1 now, I always notice the different eyes! XD

The soundtrack was mostly forgettable, as with season 1. It to me had nothing that was really memorable, and alot've the pieces were quite bland. Also, they re-used alot've tracks from season 1, which doesnt up the mark much. The OP and ED seemed great at first, but seemed to grow old quite rapidly. Maybe that's jsut because I've listened to them so much, though.

I felt the TIPS, section of Kai was really rushed, though, and some of them seemed really jumbled together in a mishap kind've way. The writing was msotly good though, and I;m glad they didnt miss out NEARLY as much as they did from the first season.

The Voice actors were perfect, as in season 1. I had no gripes with any of them, infact. Rika's VA did a great job of conveying all Rika's emotions, and Dark Rika. Yui Hori ( I think that's her VA) did a brilliant job as Hanyuu, and her 'Auau' was just great. Takano's VA also did a great job of getting across the pure evilness of the character. But for me, it has to her to Mion/Shion's VA; as in the first season, I feel she did an excellent job portrying both of the twins. All the cast did superb, though.

Extra DVD scenes for me would have to include more scenes from ep 13 ( more action please ^^., and to see a Satoshi/Shion REAL reunion, or to see them all a few years after the events of Matsubayashi.

Higurashi to me is one of ThE best anime's out there, it was my first real anime lvoe since Sailor Moon, when I was 8. And the first anime i'd really gotten into for years. When I went to Japan, I got so much merch, it was unbelivable. Also, I rewatched the first season 5 times (no joke). I just LOVED the mystery and suspence, not to mention the characters.

All the chaarcter's are real idols, as Lanner Falcon said. Shion was also my favourite, with her love for Satoshi, and just even her crazy moments from S1; she had many endearing qualities. Also, props go to Rika for being a true heroine, and not giving up even at the worst of times, she is really someone to look up to. I also loved Rena, and her cute-ness; however, unlike most 'cute' characters, she could be deadly serious and very intelligent.

In some parts of Kai, I missed the mystery of the first season, and the crazyness, but it was to be expected. But for me, season 2 probably wont grow on me as much as season 1 did.

Furthermore, ( I just realised how long this is x_x, I think DEEN could've but more of a budget into Kai, with the animation and such, and moved the story on at a better pace, but hey, hopefully more luck with season 3!~

I only began watching Higurashi in late September, so I watched the first season and the first 12 or so episodes of the second season in a really compressed period of time. It was kind of a rush.

What I love the most about Kai is how quickly it was set apart from the first season. There's the animation quality increase, obviously, but there was a big change in the overall feeling of the series, the maturity, and the genre focus. Immediately you're made to realize that Keichii is not the main character anymore (if he ever was) -- Rika really is, and maybe was all along. The OP is so moody, with all of the drama and tragedy focused inward rather than being displayed in an openly creepy manner like in the first OP. From the very first episode you just get the feeling that you're in very new territory and that the coming episodes are going to change all of the presumptions you had made watching the first season. Kai really was much more of a mystery than a horror series, with everything focused on gradual layers being removed bit by bit as you get closer to the truth. I think kind of the moment that really sums all of this up is when the second version of the OP aired and we saw that Rika was waving to Hanyuu all that time. (Yeah, I really love the OP, can you tell?)

I felt like the middle was maybe a little muddy, but overall the story was tight and well-structured. I know a lot of people prefer Miotsukushi-hen over Matsuribayashi-hen, but personally I'm glad they decided to stick closer to the original ending, because I think Hanyuu would have broken my heart in Miotsukushi-hen. I really kind of hope it doesn't turn up in the third season. I want Hanyuu to have a happy ending, too.

Well, it was definitely enjoyable. The shift from useless, annoying Keiichi to Rika as the protagonist was definitely one of the highest points of the series. Rika is a very interesting character, while I've always found Keiichi to be tiresome. The prominence that "dark" Rika took above the more moe standard Rika was also a very nice touch.

The answers to all our burgeoning questions finally delivered, as all the pieces start to slot into place. The plot resolution was absolutely welcome, and the ending was enjoyable if it was something of a stretch in places. After seeing all the characters go through a shitload of pain, suffering and general reality-warping and mind-twisting, it was very gratifying to see them finally win over destiny and break the cycle of June 1983.

Spoiler for The Bad:

My biggest disappointment in the series was the horror element is almost nonexistent in season 2. I realize that this brings the series closer to the original games, but as a tragedy it's far less enjoyable to me than it was as a moody, reality-bending horror that reminded me heavily of the Silent Hill games and the movie Jacob's Ladder. The disturbing, visceral violence and imagery of season 1 was replaced with somewhat less-disturbing emotional tragedy. I still have the images of Shion torturing Satoko to death burned into my brain just as deeply as the "mirror scene storeroom" in Silent Hill 3.

There also seems to be a significantly larger amount of the "club activities" slice-of-life filler in season 2 than there was in season 1. I don't like this. I don't mind the occasional sprinklings of comedy, but when I go into a series expecting to have my mind raped, I don't want to see a bunch of girls forcing each other to dress in ridiculous outfits after losing a card game.

The level of moe-blob fanservice in season 2 also seemed a lot more pronounced thanks to Hanyuu's presence. This isn't entirely a bad thing (Hanyuu is a very ironic character after all the general badassery build-up surrounding Oyashiro-sama) but at the same time it really does harm what I loved so much about season 1.

Matsuribayashi-hen also left me feeling hollow as an ending. It felt entirely too easy, and it made the plot leap that every one of the friends had begun to recall their lives in the other realities and avoid going insane and killing one another. This left the entire group free to fight against Takano without any distractions. The ending was one of the most disappointing I've ever seen, actually.

Spoiler for The Ugly:

The worst (and most inexcusable in my opinion) was the animation quality, however. It was never really better than mediocre and often dropped far below acceptable standards. There's not really much more to be said about this, though the first season suffered the same poorly-drawn fate as its successor.

Also I hate Keiichi. A lot.

All in all, I enjoyed Higurashi Kai quite a bit, but the first season still remains on top as far as I'm concerned. I hope they decide not to do a third season.

Wow this anime to me is Amazing, it will be my all time favourite for a long time no anime can top this one.
The storyline keeps you hanging on for more, The characters are designed pretty well. I like the music (though they should play some from the game) The OP and ED were good, though i like the old OP better.
The lack of blood and gore was disappointing but I think the ending made up for that. :] The voices were really good, I can't complain about them at all.
The thing that disappointed me the most though was the ending, it seemed to easy, they could have made it seem harder, it was so unrealistic i thought at the end. Though some questions are still unsolved, i hope they will be in season 3.

Wow... I didn't think I'd be sharing my thoughts here since I thought I'd just be redundant with most of the opinions, but after seeing two posts exposing the very same view I've been trying to dispel on several places, I think I'll just throw my two cents.

Overall, Higurashi is a series that turns around three essential themes: friendship, trust and hope. Every arc of the series, from Onikakushi to Matsuribayashi are just different presentations of these three themes, and how things can only work when they are all present. All the gore, all the violence, all the mistery, all the suspense where nothing but secondary themes that helped to highlight the different happenings one one or more of these elements were missing.

As such, it is only natural than in Kai, where the characters have suffered, and yet learned from the results of their actions, these themes start being more and more prominent, and as such the mystery, the gore and the horror return to their rightful second plane. Kai is not a tone down of the violence. It represents an evolution of the plot in the direction the original author wanted. Not only the characters or the plot, but the whole ambiance changed to represent how we were moving in a direction where all the missing pieces, and over them the three themes fell into place.

Being a series about friendship, it is only natural that we see the every day lives of the main cast, and how joyful their normal days are, since it is only through these moments that we can fully comprehend the horror that represents the loss of trust in your friends, and the loss of the joyful days. This is something that Studio DEEN had forgotten to fully adapt in the first season, and yet, they redeemed themselves in the second by dedicating more time to this section of the story. The original game was full of these little moments, from the very first arc. It is only normal, even necessary, to allocate an important time of the story to showing these.

The loss of the horror is only normal, because horror was never what the story was about in the first place, it was a prominent secondary theme in the first arcs, however now in the second season as the story grows to a conclusion the main goal of the characters becomes their struggle against fate, and hope.

Higurashi is a story whose characters have truly grew on me, who showed real development throughout the series. A story whose plot was slowly, yet masterfully unveiled. Whose ambience and setting was beautifully woven. Whose characters were not only cardboards representing a dialogue, but greatly explored souls, from the protagonists to the antagonists, whose goals, motives and needs were carefully presented. This, from my humble point of view, is a nice example of how a nice story should be presented. I was absolutely captivated by the storytelling. I may be biased, but this is enough reason for me to grant a 10/10 to this series. Previously I had only granted such mark to Haibane Renmei, Figure 17, ARIA and Simoun, just to show that I don't throw these marks like candies

- Okay, let's start with a big chunk here; the animation quality. It kinda ruined some great moments. I think Higurashi deserves a better animation quality than this. This is why we, fans, had so low expectations regarding the last episode. Even if the chances are infinitesimal, I'm still hoping that one day, maybe, Kyoto Animation will re-animate Higurashi, like they did for Kanon.

- Second, the length. This applies actually to both seasons. Yes, Higurashi was way too short in my opinion, despite the fact that there was two seasons. I'm sorry, but 2x24 episodes is still too short !! No wonder Ryuukishi requested an additional arc (Yakusamashi-hen). For such a series, 48 episodes was way too low. I know that DEEN doesn't have a high budget, and make a 60 episodes long series would be way too much money, but still. Higurashi is a game where almost every piece of information is important. So you have to pack all of those informations into the anime. If you forget one, the viewer will be lost. I know that mystery is the main theme of this series, and that you're left with a "WTF ?!" kind of face at the end of the first arcs, but at least when there is something you don't get or don't know, where's the point if you don't show us what's the answer to that mystery ?! Where's the point of showing us strange things but not explaining them to us ? That's why there are TIPS in the game, alas in the anime DEEN sometimes spent, what, not even 1 minute on one TIPS, which doesn't explain anything, and confuse us even more. DEEN, if you knew you couldn't handle all of these informations, you shouldn't have animated Higurashi.

- Third, the mood. In the first season, the serious, awkward, and anxious mood was perfectly handled. That was the very reason why I was watching Higurashi; not because it was scary (because it wasn't, really), but because I loved the mood. The opening depicted that mood perfectly. I don't really know how to explain that, but I'm sure people who think like me will understand. What's the bad point, then ? you might ask. Well, this mood completely disappeared in Kai. This is one thing I pretty much dislike about Kai; it's all about clearing up the previous mysteries. It's good, I know, but in the end it ended up being a bit... boring. I wouldn't say it needed more gore scenes, but a little bit of action or even more mysteries would have been good. Because except in episode 13 or 21 through 24 (pretty much), "nothing" is really happening, IMO. With Kai, Higurashi is more of a normal series, and we all know that it isn't the case.

Spoiler for Good points:

Well, the story had by far the most complicated plot I've ever seen. In a good way. I really enjoyed watching Higurashi, because the plot takes over, im my opinion, all the bad points of the series. I'll never forget Higurashi. All of its epic moments will be engrave in my mind forever. It's the very first anime where I was so much into the series that I bought all the games and DVDs (for the first season) without even thinking "Um, maybe I should wait, I don't have that much money left...". I don't think I'll ever come across an anime that surpasses Higurashi.

Spoiler for Overall:

In the end, I think Higurashi deserves a good 9/10. Even though I would like to give it a 10 out of 10, it still has some "bad" points. Maybe, after the third season, it will raise to a 10... or drop to an 8 or 7. The third season can break or make Higurashi. Now the only thing we have to do is wait...

Fine. Studio DEEN misrepresented the series. I wish they hadn't, so I could just say, "This show sucks" instead of explaining why I like it and having you asshats blast me for it.

I never played the original games. Maybe that's why my perceptions are skewed. I hate this sappy friendship crap; from the moment I heard the OP theme, I was just hoping the show would completely destroy my mind and totally mess with my head, and it did.

But apparently that was an accident, a mistake on the animation studio's part. The story apparently should not have been scary, but sad and tragic.

You know what? That sucks. I would have never watched it if it had been that way. Is that so wrong? I don't get why I have to like the series the way the rest of you do. I don't get why every time I point out that Kai wasn't scary enough and I get blasted for it.

This is stupid. So I blame Studio DEEN for lying to me and wasting my time. It seems like every story genre I'm fond of is dying out, in both movies, anime and games. Everyone wants happy-cute-funny, nobody wants dark and twisted, and it's making me ill.

To make it short, the only one thing, i missed are the actions from keiichi, like in the first season. I will rewatch soon all episodes at once and i think, a good half is about other people, than Keiichi, Mion, Shion, Satoko, Rika and Rena. It doesnt feels like, those kids are the main chars in this season, for me. [Just my opinion.]

The thing is when people hear Higurashi Kai they think it's going to be exactly like Higurashi there is a reason the Kai (solutions) is there instead of just Higurashi 2. The mistake deen made IMO was adding Meakashi-hen and Tsumihoroboshi-hen to the first season as they are not a part of Higurashi but of Higurashi Kai.

Though I also think that when Umineko gets an anime people will think "OMFG more Higurashi type shit" when they are completly different in mood and tone

I totally agree in that the Question and Answer arcs should have been in their own seasons.

And I do not mind character buildup. You can't be disturbed when a character gets tortured to death if you never liked the character to begin with, but a lot of the character development just seemed too much like filler.

DEEN tried to squeeze 6 arcs into 26 episodes. As a result, scenes had to shorten or completely cut. DEEN decided to focus on the horror and suspense side while cutting most of the slice of life and character development. That's one reason why season two feels so different. It has a normal pace and doesn't cut nearly as much.

You also have to keep in mind that season one and two are the same series. Neither is complete without the other. The mind screw goes down in Kai because it's the last few chapters. In a mystery novel, the mysteries are always solved at the end. It's best to ignore that they're separate seasons and just treat it as one huge 50 episode series.

While Higurashi Kai was a step up from season 1 in this sense, it still had it's faults. While I can't point out any specific examples, I can only say that while it was great, it could've been better in parts.

Voice Actors: 10

You really can't get much better than this. The voice actors just felt so in tune with their characters that they felt quite believable.

Script: 9

What can I say? The script had me drawn in from the bgeinning of the first episode to the ending of the last. While the focus on Satoko was dragged on a little bit, I really don't have much to complain about besides that.

Editing: 8

I honestly can't say too much here.

Emotional Involvement: 10

One word: WOW! Just like the first season, Higurashi Kai involved my emotions from beginning to end. Just absolutely perfect (or close to it, anyway).

Note: I've only watched both series all the way through once, and it was just recently. I'll likely be watching the whole series all the way through eventually so as to get the full picture once again.

Overall, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is a FINE anime series. While it does have its faults, there ar emore than enough positives to make the negatives seem insignificant.

I'm thinking I probably would have enjoyed Kai a bit more had it used Miotsukushi-hen instead of Matsuribayashi-hen as the final chapter.

It's prudent to note that I'm a somewhat disturbed individual. I honestly dislike happy endings. They feel way too contrived and forced. Escapism isn't about getting away from reality for me, it's more about immersion, the whole "what if this actually happened" deal.

And no, it's not about meaningless violence and gore. Look at any of the horror stories I like and you'll see none of them are plotless gorefests. While disturbing imagery plays a significant role, it's only half the package.

Spoiler for some Silent Hill 3 stuff:

For instance, most people consider the blood-filled storeroom in the Brookhaven Hospital (Dark Side) to be the most disturbing, brain-destroying moment in Silent Hill 3. I certainly loved that part myself, the most disturbing point in the entire game was actually a line of dialogue, a spoken conversation between Vincent and Heather.

One other thing I also missed was the shift of characters POV from Higurashi season 1, and the overall tones that were in S1l, it added spice to the formula. Also, I could watch the arcs in quick bursts, which was nice. I felt some character's completley got the shaft ( AKA Rena) While some got too much (Rika). I understand that it is her struggle, but soemtimes it got tiresome seeing it from her eyes.

Though, of course, It was bound to get less and less this way as the anime drew to a close and the mysteries were revealed.

Overall and looking at the series as a whole, the anime is probably still the worst out of all forms of media (ie. game, manga, drama cd, novel) that you can expose yourself to the world of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (unless you also count the TMA movie, then it's not. ). This is unfortunate as the other forms aren't fully translated into english. Alot of the problem is generated from the first season, which dragged onto season 2. As season 2 has shown, giving the story more time to develop, and having a higher quality of artwork, can improve the series as a whole. Some of the stuff that was alright to be cut, but some elements are so essential that it's still makes me wonder why they took them out.

The anime is going to be the worst to the people who went in expecting the same story presented by the other forms of Higurashi media.

I've not played the games myself, but I know a huge otaku nerd who has, and she assures me that I'd be bored to tears by it, so I'm not going to go through the massive hoops that one has to jump through to play these since no official translated versions exist.

It's not fair to call the anime "worst." It's better to say it was misrepresented, or merely different. I don't understand why the psychological horror focus of the first season is so maligned, especially in a time where the horror genre is filled with endless piles of absolute crap.

It's hilariously funny that the Higurashi anime comes out as an awesomely disturbing and mind-blowing horror gem. By accident.

Seeing what they did with the first season, I didn't except much from the second season. It started good with Yakusamashi-hen, but then it went downhills again. I won't say much about it because people pointed the bad points already out.

The only thing that I want to say is, that I didn't like Matsuribayashi-hen(novel) from beginn with. I like Miotsukushi-hen from the PS2 version a lot more. So maybe there is a small hope for those of you, who aren' satisfied with the ending.

Honestly I really enjoyed the second season. Luckily had only seen the first season in a rush only seperated by sleep before this one got started. Horror and strange deaths wasn't quite what things meant for me. Was an odd feeling to get attached to the main characters and then watch as they were taken towards their demise. Odd combination of smiles then sadness that was for sure.

Really got drawn to Rika as things began to be revealed. Could only feel for the pain she had to endure to be even closer to the characters and to see them fall under the syndrome and at times kill each other. Could understand the feelings of despair and futility that had become part of her after so many failures without the success she had hoped for. But she started to find hope and courage to stand up against a massive force that had lead to her death so many times.

Really enjoyed following the story as it went along. Getting a more complete understanding of what exactly has been going on. Was of course important to find out that Takano was the enemy who was behind all of it. A season of discovery and understanding the dangerous and monumental task that was before Rika to overcome. But also a story about friendship and trust. When characters like Keiichi, Rena, or Shion didn't have faith in the others they had the potential to fall closer to L5. Even Rika was trying to carry this burden with only Hanyuu beside her. Only when they could finally work together and combine their resources was it even possible to come close to winning.

Really liked about this series was the cast involved. A lot of great characters especially the club. Keiichi continued from the end of last season as being a catalyst for breaking fate. Having the strength to change things that Rika had seen as inevitable and even being able to rally a village for Satoko. Always a nice combination of likability, but those friends also have useful skills that helped in getting through it all. Like Satoko's ocean of traps that showed they were more than just for laughs at Keiichi's expense.

Will of course be people who enjoyed and didn't like the series. In the end I really loved watching each episode and hoping the characters could make it. So will give this show the 10. Not because it was perfect in absolutely every way, but because it was a great show that told an excellent story.